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Islamist Akhundsada in a 2016 photo of the Taliban
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HANDOUT/ REUTERS
The supreme leader of the militant Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan, Haibatullah Achundsada, has reaffirmed his claim to power.
At a large gathering in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday, Achundsada urged the nation to follow his instructions.
"I am not a symbolic political leader based on elections," the religious leader said, according to the state news agency Bakhtar.
"The success of Afghan jihad is a source of pride not only for Afghans, but for Muslims around the world."
Achundsada, a radical cleric from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, has remained largely in the background, fueling speculation about his whereabouts and health.
When the Taliban named their interim government in September, Achundsada retained the role he has held since 2016: supreme authority on political, religious and military affairs.
Even after the Taliban returned to power, he was not seen in public for a long time.
State radio broadcast Achundsada's speech
In Kabul, Achundzada's speech was broadcast on state radio, but there was no television footage of the meeting.
Media were largely excluded from the event.
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According to a Taliban spokesman, 3,000 representatives of religious and ethnic groups from across the country attended the meeting.
It resembles a »Loya Jirga«, in which traditionally important decisions for the country are made.
It is the first gathering of this kind since the Taliban took power.
According to the Reuters news agency, at least one of the all male envoys called for the opening of schools for girls, which the Taliban, contrary to initial announcements after taking power, have so far refused to do.
How much support there was for this position remained unclear.
A Taliban spokesman said the assembly's decisions were respected, but that Achundsada had the final say.
fek/slu/dpa/Reuters